It had initially been March 25, but is now April 26.

Organisers have cited high interest in the competition among eligible schoolchildren for the change in the timeline.

The contest is being run by Italy's Ministry of Education alongside Milan Cortina 2026.

At least one of the selected mascot designs will come from the student body, organisers promise.

The mascot initiative - open to female students, as well as those of all genders in primary school and lower secondary school - is viewed as a means of promoting their involvement in the Games.

Milan Cortina 2026 has also chosen to target that demographic to promote awareness of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

After the submissions window ends, Regional School Offices will establish special working groups for the first phase of mascot selection.

The selection process will then move onto national level, before a public vote is used to determine the final mascot.

A public vote has already been used to determine the Milan Cortina 2026 anthem and logo.

Fino all'alba - translated to "Until the dawn" - has been chosen as Milan Cortina 2026's official anthem.

The "Futura" logo, which features the numbers two and six in a single trace, was chosen to be the Games' logo.

The next edition of the Winter Olympics is scheduled to run from February 6 to 26 in 2026, with the Paralympics set to follow from March 6 to 15.